ts run
off under the roof. It is a wonder we don't have rats with them all open
that way."

"It would be an unpleasant task to explore. I suppose there's twenty
years of dust and cobwebs stored up in those nooks and crannies. There
are places where the roof slopes to form the gables where a man could
hardly crawl through. I suppose I might hire some boy to go through and
see if he can find anything."

Ernest and Chicken Little had been interested listeners to this
conversation.

"Say, Father, let me and the boys explore. We could put on some old
clothes--it would be loads of fun."

"That might not be a bad idea. You couldn't come to any harm other than
a few scratches and splinters. I don't believe you will find anything,
but Alice will be satisfied at any rate."

"Can't I go, too?" demanded Chicken Little.

"Oh, dear no," her mother replied, "it would be horribly dirty and
cobwebby--no place for little ladies to climb round in."

Jane looked disappointed.

"Why not let the child go, Mother? Put an old dress on her and tie up
her hair. She'd enjoy the fun as much as the boys."

"Oh, well, there is that old blue calico in the rag bag you could slip
on, I suppose."

"Goody, goody!" Chicken Little didn't wait to hear the subject discussed
further lest her mother should change her mind. She started off to don
the dress immediately.

Ernest ran over to get Sherm and Carol.

The boys were eager for the hunt.

"You mustn't take matches in there. You might drop one and set the house
afire. You can use the little lantern--that will be safe. Be careful you
don't come through the plastering--there must be some sort of an open
space over the central part of the house though I don't know where
there's any way to reach it. It will be stone dark if there is--there
are no outside windows."

While the exploring party was trying to decide whether to start in with
the front room closet or begin with the one in the maid's room at the
back of the house, Katy and Gertie appeared on the scene. They promptly
begged to go, too.

"Well, ask your mother and get some old clothes on," Mrs. Morton
consented finally after Chicken Little had teased for several minutes.

They were off and back in no time, arrayed in outgrown dresses that gave
them the appearance of being all arms and legs.

"Mother said she wished she could come, too. She said it would be
almost as much fun as exploring a desert island," reported Katy.

It was